Not long afterwards, Cissy has a bad night and, as Valancy sits up with her, she tells her tragic little tale. While working at the hotel that summer a few years previously, she met a young university student from a wealthy Toronto family. She fell in love with him and she thought he loved her... the usual story. And she was ignorant of some of the facts of life. His father took him back to Toronto and later, when Cissy realised she was pregnant, she wrote to him. He came back and reluctantly said that he'd marry her, but Cissy refused, because she could see that he didn't care about her anymore. He left again and Cissy never revealed his identity to anyone. She also tells Valancy how much she loved her little baby boy, and how broken she was when he died. She says that, after his death, she was glad to find out that she was dying, too.
"Cissy dead--Cissy dead," he said vacantly. "I didn't think it would 'a' come so soon. Dead. She used to run down the lane to meet me with a little white rose stuck in her hair. Cissy used to be a pretty little girl. And a good little girl."
"She has always been a good little girl," said Valancy.
All of Deerwood and the people from "upback" come to Cissy's funeral, granting her the forgiveness in death that they never gave her in life. Barney Snaith isn't there; he brought white roses before the funeral for Cissy's casket and then went back to his island. The Stirlings come to the funeral en masse, having had a family conference beforehand. They decide that the best thing to do is, while the community is remembering Cissy more kindly, act like they condoned Valancy's nursing of her as an act of Christian charity. Obviously the prodigal is going to return home now, and if the family conspires to make the entire episode seem respectable, they may quell the scandal.
When the funeral is over, Valancy's mother finds her in the kitchen and asks her if she is coming home now- after all, she can't stay on just with Roaring Abel. Valancy answers vaguely that no, she won't be staying here although she needs to for a couple of days to put the house to rights. All in all, the Stirlings are relieved as they head for home. Uncle Benjamin advises everyone to, when Valancy comes home, act like nothing untoward happened. They may yet save the family's good name.